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Lepidus 8/15/06 1:56:33 PM
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Novice Member
Joined: 1/07/04 |
Aaron Roxby has some distinct opinions on the grind. In this new editorial called "DING! Or why I killed several thousand innocent goblins and rats", we learn what they are.
You can read more here. |
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battleaxe 8/15/06 3:21:47 PM
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Novice Member
Joined: 1/06/04 |
MMORPGs are all about killing random stuff to get random stuff. I can't even count the number of quadraplegic, toothless, tongueless, blind, skinless, boneless, tail-less, earless, hairless, peltless, gutless wolves I've dispatched. (How exactly do these things hurt me, anyway?) They even came up with a term - camping - to describe a method of getting the most experience for time invested by "pulling" monsters to a group stationed in an area that was known to be relatively free of wandering monsters. I'm fairly certain that if you lived in medieval times and threw a dagger at a castle guard and ran back to your group, the guard would bring a lot more of his friends than just the guy standing there with him. Unfortunately, that's the MMORPG we live in.
D&D was about group comraderie and journeying to accomplish a mission. No one deliberately set out to kill wolves for experience. You never heard someone say "hang on - just need to kill a couple more wolves so I can level". The experience was awarded for successful mission completion, extraordinary "in character" actions, and sometimes random whims of the DM. You could get experience from successfully bypassing a fight, too, because the fight wasn't necessarily the objective. I've never gotten experience in an MMO for not fighting. One MMO problem with journeys is that someone, somewhere decided that time had to be the same for every character. In D&D, you told the DM "we head from town A to town B", the DM replied how long it would take, and you may or may not have to "play" the journey. If something interesting was to happen along the way, you did, but not the entire minute to minute journey. If you camped (because your character does have to sleep now and then) or there were random encounters, the DM had you deal with those. Otherwise, the DM said "you arrive at Town B", and that was it - no long runs through desolate newbie areas or uber-mob filled fens. |
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Robbgobb 8/15/06 4:36:28 PM
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Advanced Member
Joined: 8/03/03 |
I understand this editorial very well. I don't understand why there is so little play in MMORPGs. Seems it is more grind and loot than adventure. The new EQ Progression servers is a great example of where the developers made it very much about the numbers but tried to spin it in a way to get the ones who wanted to adventure. The adventurers are feeling pretty bad about the way it is turning out. Those servers have a score board for #1s and so the people who love numbers are racing which is advancing things too fast for the adventurers. I would love to see more dynamic content in MMORPGs that did not come down to numbers but to have a chance to participate in something that is limited to a one time event that is not a first one there but just being there. Something where a town is being attacked by a horde. A 1st level is going out and making some of the fringe mad and leading them back to an ambush by the high level characters. Make it something not about loot or experience or numbers. Make something where participation is what is important. I keep hoping for something where I helped influence something in the world and not just did some rinse and repeat content.
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eagle4x4 8/15/06 6:45:56 PM
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Apprentice Member
Joined: 1/26/06
-Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. - Ben Franklin |
Great piece!
I play my character as if I am in the world, I follow quest lines to the end while reading the lore and enjoying the landscapes. As a residual effect, I level. I also take the time to enjoy tradeskills and run a business. I have been playing EQ2 for a long time and I am level 53. Many of my guildies have past me up to max out at 70. I can only hope they enjoyed the journey as much as do. |
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| SWG - One of the original Master Rangers (retired) |
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_Seeker 8/16/06 2:17:54 AM
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Novice Member
Joined: 7/28/04 |
He was actually better at playing this game than I was, because he was actually experienced. - Aaron Roxby You werent the first to say it but damn its good to hear another person with a similar view. Horses for courses. Rock, pop, roots & rap. Single player, multiplayer, MMO-(RPG; RTS; FPS; G). Define definition. Your bound to get different answers. Just like you would with whats an MMOG mean? Explorers, Socialisers, Achievers & Killers? Questers, Griefers, Lamers, Carebears. |
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Gorukha 8/16/06 3:23:47 AM
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Novice Member
Joined: 7/24/03
I r0x j00 r0x we all r0x |
It's called addiction. The only reason we play these shitty games.oh and for cyber.
The real reasons are for a sense of community (a graphical chatroom) and so through playing and grinding we can actually measure our achievements agaisnt someone elses, unlike single player games. Other than the thousands of players populating these games you barely have a game to play. If you took the massiveley multiplayer out of it you would have a game even william hung could play(noone will convince me he is not retarded) Everyone will obviously say DUH to that, but then they should scratch their heads and wonder why they are playing games with their friends which are utter crap. |
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| It's better be hated for who you are, than loved for who you aren't. |
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harrisonw 8/16/06 12:35:33 PM
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Novice Member
Joined: 6/20/05 |
Insteresting article.
Issue I have with it is this (in his comparison to FPS'): an RPG, IMO, should not be based on someone's twitch factor. If I'm 80 years-old and still playing MMO's (God willing!!) should I get my lvl 127 Uber Battle Mage's @ss handed to me by a 12 year-old and his lvl 5 Newbish Warrion just because his twitch skills are better? I think not. I don't even think it should be a contest. No matter that this 12 year-old has 5 level 200 Elven Fairy Monsters and has tons more "experience" playing the game. The whole point is the "RP"... We're "role playing" these avatars. Not merging them with real life. And although I do agree, the "grind" is evil, it's a necessary evil. I think one approach would be to institue dynamic questing and longer quest lines with more story telling involved. But, that's just my opinion. |
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Roxbott 8/16/06 1:03:06 PM
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Novice Member
Joined: 7/16/06 |
"I
think one approach would be to institue dynamic questing and longer
quest lines with more story telling involved."
I completely agree. While I did use a First Person Shooter as an example, I didn't mean to convey that "Twitch" gameplay is the only way to go. Skill can mean more than just reflexes. I also believe that there is room for many types of online games. I don't think that we need to "get rid" of the old style, simply that we should have more alternatives. That way, 40 years from now, I can sit and grind in my old age, but grandson will be able to jump into his holodeck and actually kill an ogre. |
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| Notice: The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the reviews of MMORPG.com or its management. |
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Destinee 8/16/06 10:27:34 PM
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Novice Member
Joined: 9/20/04 |
DING!
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mandrak66 8/16/06 10:32:32 PM
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